The Pet Project of "Señor Presidente"

Yesterday Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador inaugurated Mexico City's second airport, the Felipe Angeles International Airport.

(image taken from the web)

In an earlier post, I discussed how López Obrador had halted construction of the new airport begun by his predecessor. It was going to be the biggest in Latin America and would have replaced the current airport which is operating at capacity.   The abandoned project was one third completed and cancellation cost over $5 billion (that's U.S dollars, not pesos).  López Obrador cited corruption, cost overruns and environmental concerns... all valid points.  However his alternate plan is also highly flawed.

The President decided to relieve the pressure at the existing airport, by building a second one at a military airbase located 27 miles north of the city.  The location has been criticized as being too far away.  No highway or rail connections have been built to easily connect it with the city center.  The government says that it takes 1 1/2 hours to reach the new airport from the southernmost part of the city.  That could be if there is no traffic... but when is there no traffic in Mexico City?  Critics say that the travel time is more likely to be 2 1/2 hours.  It could very well take you longer to get to the airport than to fly to your domestic destination!  Can you imagine what a nightmare it would be if you arrived at Mexico City International Airport and had a connection at the Felipe Angeles Airport?

Other than one Venezuelan airline, there are no international carriers that have signed onto the new airport.  At this point three Mexican airlines will operate a limited number of domestic flights from there.

In typical fashion López Obrador has viewed all criticism of his new airport as attempts by his opponents to besmirch his presidency.  But the airport is the butt of many jokes, such as the picture below which was posted on Twitter...

There's a new "airbus" line... Morenaérea.

("Morena" is the name of López Obrador's political party.)

Critics are also concerned about the safety of the airport.  The President wanted his pet project to be completed before the end of his term, and some say that the construction was rushed.  When López Obrador was mayor of Mexico City, the construction of Line 12 of the Metro system was rushed to completion before the end of his term.  One year ago shoddy construction resulted in the collapse of an overpass on that line.  Twenty six people died and seventy nine people were injured in that tragedy.